Proofing is a crucial step in high-volume printing operations. This is because high volume printing presses are typically expensive to set up and run, and they generally cannot be stopped before hundreds or even thousands of pages have been consumed. And if an error is not detected until after a whole run is complete, millions of pages can be wasted. Printing professionals therefore commonly use dedicated ink-jet proof printers to create so-called “contract proofs,” which they present to their customers for approval before beginning high-volume printing runs.
Given the potential costs at stake, it is of the utmost importance to ensure that these contract proofs match the final output. To this end, the print data are color corrected so that the inks used on the proof printer can accurately match the colors in the final output. The data may also be processed to allow the proof printer to accurately reproduce image artifacts characteristic of the high-volume printing process. And printing professionals must be careful to regularly calibrate their proofing printers and to consistently use appropriate inks and substrates for their proofs. But proofing errors can happen even in the most meticulously run operations, and the cost of such errors can be quite high.